Metal nanoparticle based all-optical photothermal light modulator.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 24437364.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/nn406389f.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
We present a simple scheme for the manipulation of light intensity by light mediated by a dissipative process. The implementation employs the heat released by an optically excited plasmonic metal nanoparticle to control the size of an isotropic bubble in a nematic liquid crystal film. The nematic film is designed as a zero-order half-wave plate that rotates an incident probe light polarization by π/2 and is blocked by an analyzing polarizer behind the structure. The growing isotropic bubble disturbs the half-wave plate and causes the probe to be transmitted through the modulator structure. Our results demonstrate that dissipative processes may be advantageously used to control light by light.